The present invention relates to a method and a dispenser for discharging beer from a can, bottle, barrel (hereinafter referred to as "container") or beer tap into a mug, glass, or the like (hereinafter referred to as "mug"). Conventionally, when beer is dispersed from a barrel of such large capacity as 10 or 25 l into a mug, the discharge of the beer into the mug has been effected at a considerably high speed under the pressure of carbon dioxide gas. The beer thus freshly dispensed has a very creamy head of foam and a mild taste caused thereby. However, since the discharge of beer under the pressure of carbon dioxide gas requires a special device and raises the cost, this method is not generally adopted towards the containers of 10 l or less capacity and instead the gravity discharge is common among them. Various devices have been proposed to facilitate the gravity discharge; however, most of the conventional ones are means for only making the discharge easy, for reducing the price of a device, or for making the cleaning of a device easy.
The head of foam plays a very important role in determining the taste of the freshly dispensed beer. It is well known that the finer the head of foam, the better the beer tastes. It is therefore a key point for obtaining the better taste of beer to have a suitable amount of creamy head of foam formed atop the beer dispensed in the mug. Further, air should not be allowed to mingle in the foam. However, the discharge of beer simply by means of gravity never allows the formation of creamy foam and the formation of coarse froth in the gravity discharge makes the taste of beer rough in comparison with the discharge of beer under the pressure of carbon dioxide gas. Though the use of publicly known devices sometimes makes it possible to obtain beer having somewhat fine foam, it hardly stands with the beer dispensed under the pressure of carbon dioxide gas in terms of both good foaminess and taste.
More particularly, the beer dispensed under the pressure of carbon dioxide gas is made to swirl in the mug at a relatively high speed and shearing stress resulting from the swirls of different speed causes the formation of very small bubbles of carbon dioxide gas in the beer composing the creamy head of foam. On the other hand, the discharge of beer by gravity can not afford enough swirling speed. When beer is discharged high above the mug to obtain high swirling speed, the pouring beer beats the beer in the mug with air entrained, which causes the formation of large bubbles and makes the taste poor. Also a device to discharge beer from a container kept at a high place into a mug below at an increased speed through a hose or tube makes the system too complicated to be realized for practical use. The use of a dispenser comprising minute holes (FIG. 7), which is designed only to make bubbles smaller, offers a head of very small foam and makes the taste soft; however, bubbles are formed too excessively and reduce the quantity of beer kept in the mug. This is far from practicality, since too much overflow of foam makes the handling messy and the excessively thick head of foam makes the drinking awkward.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method and a dispenser for dispensing beer in which the merit of discharge under the pressure of carbon dioxide gas is successfully combined with the handiness of discharge by gravity.